Brad Fittler is giving serious consideration to choosing two NSW hookers to counter Cameron Smith as he heaped praise on Luke Brooks for rocketing into State of Origin contention.

Fittler said he has only a “very rough” idea of what his best 17 currently looks like, as he is wary that injuries, form and suspensions can conspire against him. However, there are some promising signs for the key positions of hookers and halves, despite doubts Panthers No.7 Nathan Cleary will be fit in time to press his claims.

Contender: Damien Cook could be one of two hookers NSW turns to this season.Credit:NRL Photos

The Blues have traditionally only chosen one hooker, Robbie Farah, who was a mainstay of the team until Nathan Peats took over last year. Peats will struggle to maintain his position after another injury-plagued start to the year, with Cameron McInnes, Damien Cook and Apisai Koroisau strongly pressing their claims.

Fittler revealed he could pitch two of them into the series opener, raising the prospect of Rabbitohs rake Cook burning the Maroons with his speed out of dummy half at the back end of halves.

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“Just generally having more damage out there, more speed and more energy,” Fittler said of the prospect of two hookers. “Call it petrol, whatever you want to call it. I think [it’s an option] to really give the middle area the best opportunity to win it.

“They key is with them, everything comes off Cameron, it makes him so dangerous. I don’t know how many times we’ve won that middle, won that area around there. At times we’ve had Kurt Gidley, different players play the hooker role, but most of the time we’ve gone in with one hooker. (Two) is definitely in the thinking.”

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Fittler described the form of Dragons dummy half McInnes as “awesome” and said his game was not dissimilar to that of Cook. “He’s going so good,” Fittler said of Cook. “The other thing is he made 48 tackles and one miss. We’re very conscious of that – obviously what he’s doing with the metres, what he’s doing out of there, that’s the headline stuff. But the other columns, he’s doing really well at too.

“Him and McInnes are very similar. His try over the weekend shows how fast he is. He’s not doing it as consistently as Cook but he’s playing a different team where his halves and other players are doing all the damage. He’s playing very smart.”

Fittler will take guidance from Danny Buderus, a member of his brains trust and one of the greatest Blues hookers of them all. “If you play a second nine, you’ve got to make sure he can play other positions as well,” Buderus said.

While James Maloney is a lock for one of the halves spots, Brooks has emerged as an option after a series of stunning performances. The Tigers’ game has gone to a new level after he combined with Benji Marshall.

“Outstanding,” Fittler said. “Benji is really helping him out, you can see that really experienced combo with an experienced person benefiting Luke unbelievably. His running game is outstanding, he’s playing really tough. He’s showing good qualities.”

Asked whether Brooks was ready to step up into the interstate arena, Fittler said: “It’s hard to say. We’re wiping out no one, that’s been obvious from the outset. Whether it’s this year for Luke Brooks or possibly in the future, he’s showing great qualities. He’s playing in a team putting the team first and it’s always been something we’ve been looking at.”